A Plastic Slipper
by Dark knightress
Summary: Please read this and make me a happy person. It's very nice I've been told so just give it a chance! Romance, adventure, comedy, weird monster things, what more could you want. And it has nothing to do with plastic slippers! Loosely based on Cinderella.
1. Intro to the Intro

Introduction of the Introduction

_Okay people, this is my first fan fiction on one of my favorite subjects: Fairy tales, so please be kind and review. And if the review button isn't working be kind and e-mail me please. I'm just a lonely little (well not really) girl who has nothing to do! I promise this gets better as it progresses. If you stop reading you will miss out on something so fantastical and splendid that you will thank yourself for continuing._

_Anyway, this is my version of Cinderella. Well, this is chapter one of a nice story. Please enjoy! Ps. When I say intro. Of the intro I mean that this thing that you're reading right now is the introduction of the chapter. The next thing that you are going to read is the introduction of the story._

_Ps again, if this seems a little weird, it's because I'm watching Snow White, a tale of terror at the same time. I told you I liked fairy tales._

_Pps. I just wanted to remind you that I OWN EVERYTHING PERSON AND ANIMAL INT HIS CHAPTER! HAHAHA YOU CAN'T STEEL ANYHTING FROM ME! OR I'LL SUE! UNLESS YOU ASK ME IF I CAN USE SOME OF MY CHARACTERS!#))&

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_Introduction of the chapter._

If you know the story of Cinderella then you will probably have a better understanding of this story.

If not then you better close this book and start off on basic fairy tales before you read any advanced books.

Now for those of you who forgot the story…

Cinderella is about a young, beautiful, kind girl whose mother died.

Naturally her father marries someone else. This 'someone else' happens to be a widow with 2 daughters.

This widow isn't much to look at, so naturally her daughters aren't exactly the belles of the ball.

After they got married, Cinderella's father who has no name somehow dies and now Cinderella is left under the care of her stepmother. Isn't it a crazy coincidence how everyone important in Cinderella's life suddenly dies? With no relatives whatsoever?

Surprisingly, the stepmother and stepsisters are jealous of Cinderella's good looks and kindness. They turn her into a servant and make her do all the house work.

Now what kind of house does not have servant in it? I'm sure that before Cinderella became a servant, there was at least **one** person there to do the house work. Are the servants just being lazy and not helping out? Are they hiding? Has the house been lying in dust for decades at a time? Or has magic been doing the housework?

Letting that pass, we go on.

So now Cinderella is slave in her own house doing all the chores and having a mean and cruel stepmother and stepsisters to deal with. What a kid.

One day the prince of the kingdom decides to hold a ball, and all the women in the kingdom are invited. Married or not.

As the stepsisters and stepmother are getting ready for the ball, Cinderella asks to go along while sweeping a gutter or something else.

Obviously, they say no and Cinderella is forced to stay alone in her servant less house.

Now instead of doing something –anything- she runs around crying, about how she wants to go to the ball, and simply acting like a wench and a bum.

Now, if you were in her position, what would you do?

Personally, I would just borrow a dress and some makeup and go to the ball. There's no one who could tell on me, since there's no servants in the house to tell on me. The night is mine to spend!

Then again there is the problem of transportation, but hey, every cloud has a silver lining and every, tunnel has a light at the end or some kind of nonsense like that.

Well anyways she runs around crying and wasting valuable space and air when suddenly a shimmering star appears in the air and turns into a beautiful woman we all know as The fairy godmother. Of all the times to come to Cinderella's aide, she chose now. What about all those times when Cinderella was cold and hungry.

And all those times when she had a never ending list if chores because of the lazy no-existent servants.

Why she chose now is beyond my measure of comprehension.

Now that Cinderella has the whole house to herself, and could do anything she wants -eat sleep rest- is when Ms. Fairy decides to show up.

So know the fairy is doing all sorts to help Cinderella get to the ball.

Like taking rats and lizards out of their respectable places and turning them into footmen and coachmen and what-not.

And the way she makes the coach is unbelievable. Ms. Fairy takes a huge garden show award winning pumpkin that could make about a hundred pumpkin pies, has been turned into a carriage.

As for the dress, she makes a descent dress and fine jewelry, but just when we finally think that she has finally going to do something normal, she bestows glass slippers on Cinderella's feet.

Now after ruining your chance at winning a garden award, and neglecting you for months at a time, the fairy has now at last made you into a walking disaster.

Who, in their right mind would give someone slippers made of glass? And who in their right mind would wear them?

What if you accidentally tripped? What if you stepped into a niche and the slipper broke around your foot? All the possibilities…

Also letting that pass…

As Cinderella arrives at the ball Ms. Fairy Godmother warns her that the magic disappears at midnight and to be out of there by then. What kind of magic, only lasts till 12'oclock? Your allowed to put a girl to sleep for 100 years (Sleeping Beauty) but you can't let a girl go to a ball for one night.

Amazing.

Anyways…

Cinderella walks into the ball and amazes everyone with her beauty-for a split second. After that they went on with their business and totally forgot about her.

All accept one. This 'one' was the Prince. Of all the people she could attract she had to get the obsessive ruler of the land.

Now the moment she walked in, he actually left the woman he was dancing with and went to Cinderella. If that isn't rude, I don't know what is.

He suddenly sweeps her up in a dance that never ends…even if the song did.

He danced with no one else but her. Not my idea of a good host.

He falls madly in love with her which is rather odd, since he doesn't even know her name, which is all very well since she doesn't know her name. Even though you already know that he is the prince it still would be polite to ask his name. If he has one…

They dance the whole night through and do stuff that associates with dancing.

Suddenly, the clock strikes 12 and Cinderella had to run off and go to her carriage before it disappeared.

Now the prince doesn't take it too well. He actually calls the guards to go after her. That doesn't seem very nice. If you love someone you have to let them go. But the thing that really irks me is that the moment she leaves, he starts calling out, "Wait, wait. I don't even know your name." How idiotic is that?

As she runs out and arrives in front of the carriage it disappears and turns into a pumpkin and all of her jewelry and clothes turn into all of their original things.

Except for the shoes.

Somehow the glass slippers stay in their original form. Does that mean Ms. Fairy stole it from someone and then gave it to Cinderella? Because the magic on them should've worn off. That means they weren't magic in the first place and really belonged to someone else. So some poor soul somewhere is missing a pair of glass slippers while Cinderella I off gallivanting with them on.

But, wait she only as one slipper. That means she lost the other one while she was running away. Why did the slipper fall off? If it really fit her, why did it fall off?

Well that's a mystery.

Since the carriage was a pumpkin again and the horses were back I there respectable forms, Cinderella had to walk/run all the way home. Wait if she walked all the way home, doesn't that mean she could've walked all the way to the ball from home? There was no one to stop her! Wouldn't that mean she wasn't really fond of the idea of going to the ball?

As Cinderella arrived home on foot she waits for her stepfamily to get home.

Meanwhile, some prince is obsessing over a glass slipper. He doesn't sleep nor eat and he spend his time with a shoe. Prince claims to have fallen in love with the maiden who he met one night. ONE NIGHT!

He says that he will never do anything until he marries her.

What if she didn't want to marry him?

Anyways, he has this brilliant idea of tracking her down. He will take the glass slipper and try in on the foot of every single woman in a kingdom where about 20 women have the same foot size. Isn't that the most fabulous idea you ever heard of?

It is much better than identifying the face of every maiden before you try it on just to narrow down the search. Or asking for the other pair and marrying the girl who gives it up.

As he goes around trying shoes on the feet of total strangers, Cinderella is at home doing nothing in particular. Finally the prince comes to her cottage and tried the shoe on everyone. Except Cinderella. When he's about to leave is when she wants to come down. He tries it on her foot and it magically fits! Then she takes the shoe out of her pocket which could've broken at any moment and puts it on. Then they leave and get married happily ever after.

The end

Wow isn't that story just peachy keen? Somehow everything works out fine.

Well I'm writing this story in order to clarify things up a bit.  
From the point of view (POV) of our heroic heroine, Ella, (not referring to Ella Enchanted my favorite book) let the story begin!

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_Okay, sorry it's long. Please keep reading. It gets more interesting in the next chapter since I begin the real story then. If you press the little blue button on the left everything will go well in the next chapter so please be nice and press it and write some words in it. I will mention you in the next chapter! I PROMISE!_

_Till we meet again good reviewers. _

_-Dark Knightress_


	2. Very boring and shameful

_Okay, I'm back from a 2 year hiatus with better spelling and a lot more experience. Thank goodness I took that break, the old plot I was going to use would've made you hurl! Now before I start on a story that will make you want to rip your eyes out, here are some very well deserved thank you's to some very deserving reviewers: _

_**Sfh204: **__This chapter is dedicated to you because you're the person who reminded me that I even wrote this. I'm sorry if it sucks._

_**Snowfallegends: **__I'm glad you enjoyed my story, I nearly threw up after I read it myself. Who knew I was such a horrible little kid back then?_

_**Luna Moonshine**_ _You told me to update and I deliberately disobeyed you. I'm sorry and I hope you'll forgive me._

_**Soccerchicka19:**__ I know the story went a little too fast when I wrote it, but I hope you'll enjoy this chapter._

_**Ardelis**__ Mercy: I'm very happy you enjoyed chapter 1, so in order to keep you addicted I'll make chapter 2 even better!_

_**Panemonium**__: I hope you'll have plenty to write about for this chapter, because I'll be introducing most of the characters now!_

_**SmileyFacePerson**__: I read you Ashklya story and liked it a lot! But then you stopped updating for a while so there was nothing left for me to do. Anyways, I'll make sure this chapter has less spelling errors._

_**Jiabiathon**__: You also told me to update and yet I, a selfish whelp, refused. Please, don't lose faith in me just yet._

_So, like I said, I'm returning from a 2 year brain break (Just like Naruto Shippuuden!) and will try to make a better chapter. The real question is why am I replying to these reviews? They were given to me 2 years ago (except for the person this chapter is dedicated to) so they probably won't care. That is so like me, holding on to the ghost of the past. This chapter is mostly about Ella's past and the current setting. You need to get an idea about them before we actually get to and discernable plot._

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"Stop Crying. Stop it I say. Do you wish to shame your mother after she expected so much from you? Imagine, a 16 year old girl like you, crying shamelessly out into the night." 

My tears slowed down into miniscule streams across my cheeks. Father always did that when I cried, he would bring up my dead mother and how shamed she would be to see her daughter crying in front of everyone.

Some dad.

I brushed my plain brown hair away from my eyes and noticed that my father had tears in his eyes too. Little ones, but they were tears.

"W-when will you be back?" I sniffed piteously. Father's gold eyes glittered in the sunlight as he looked over his shoulder at the boat behind him. The sun sparkled on the sapphire sea and the sky was a deep cerulean, without a cloud in the sky. It was such a perfect day that no one would've expected the turmoil going on under my skin.

Father stood up and walked over to the ship that was waiting in the harbor. "I'll write you once everything is stable, and don't forget: Keep your chin up. You are Ella-Nora Artemis Lantern the daughter of Lord and Lady Lantern."

Those were the last words he said to me before he went on his boat and never looked back.

My father was an ambassador for the king of Pishnoc, so he was often traveling. Mother and I used to go everywhere with him. We went to all sorts of exotic places, and met all sorts of exotic people. Fairies and gnomes and unicorns were all part of the deal too, but caused a heap of trouble if you rubbed them the wrong away.

Pishnoc was the grandest place of them all, with tall castles and open and fields; horses and trees and all sorts of spectacular landscapes. Our home was right next to the castle, just in case there was an emergency so we always had the best service at hand.

My life was absolutely perfect, until she got sick. It turns out that my mother caught some weird foreign disease when we visited San Logen. She died cursing some person named Garrith de Grey Fee and she kept telling me to avoid him whatever the cost.

My father and I thought we could get along quite nicely even though mother was dead. We traveled far and wide, taking in the sights and trying to be happy for mother, but it all came crashing to an end. Again.

When we were visiting a place called Foret de Oubli. I decided to stray from the cottage we were staying in. I soon got hopelessly lost and the sky was getting darker and the forest was looking treacherous. It began to rain and I began to lose hope when all of a sudden I saw a gray light making its way toward me.

It flashed and all of a sudden there was a boy of about 12 standing in front of me wearing all gray clothes. He was as handsome as the sun, but there was something about him that seemed rather off. There was a dangerous glint in his eye and he had a demoralizing smile on his face. His tunic was gray and so were his trousers and his hair was a shining silver as was his eyes.

I was a little girl of about 10 or so when this happened, so you can imagine my surprise. He walked over (I was sitting at the base of a tree with my arms around my knees) and crouched next to me.

"What's a matter little girl? Lost?" He asked in the most soothing voice.

I sniffled, nodded, and wiped the tears from my eyes to get a look at his face, but was shocked at what I saw. He was the most beautiful person I had ever seen in my young life. I had traveled a lot so I had a basis of comparison, but this person absolutely threw them all into the dust. I stared into his gray eyes, shocked into silence. He smiled and chuckled softly as if he was used to this kind of thing happening all the time.

He stood up and held his hand out toward me.

"Don't worry, I'll take you home." He cooed. I stood up and followed him as he led me to my cottage and worried father.

As I was about to run toward the open door, the boy caught my hand and pulled me to him. He looked at me with piercing gray eyes. "Wait a minute. It was hard work trying to find the way back. Could you please do one little favor for me?"

I nodded eagerly (I wasn't much of a talker) I was so grateful. He smiled that alarming smile of his and let go of my arm.

"W-what would you like me to do?" I whispered softly. He looked at me with a tilt of his head. "Don't worry; you don't have to do anything now. I'll find you when we're older, because that's when I need the favor."

"H-how will you f-find me?"

His smile broadened. "I have my ways. Don't forget okay? We'll probably meet in a couple of years." And then he was gone. He ran back into the thick meat of the forest before I could even ask his name.

Needless to say, my father was very happy that when I came home. He scolded my mildly for running off on my own but held me close and kissed the top of my head.

I was so excited about what had happened that I spilled everything and told him the whole story from beginning to end.

By the time I got to the middle of my tale, my father looked very disturbed. He kept asking me about the boy and if he took anything from me like hair or a handkerchief.

When I got to the part about the favor the boy asked me for Father was getting increasingly fidgety and then he jumped up and began packing all of our things.

I was worried about my dad and kept asking if he was ok, but all he did was pack and mutter to himself. We were out of Foret de Oubli by morning and that was the last time my dear dad ever took me anywhere with him.

I looked at my father as he walked onto the giant ship that would take him to places I could only imagine in my wildest dreams. One renegade tear ran down my face as I watched him walk away from me again. Leaving me alone with horrible Madame Teestripe and her daughter Merisel. When I was about 13, my father began worrying that he was leaving me alone too often. He tried to stay home more often but the King always has urgent business that can never wait.

That's when my dad had this bright wonderful spectacular idea. He would hire a woman to care for me and keep me company when he was off on business!

When I first heard the idea I was excited out of my wits. An actual person would be with me! No more lonely nights or dull afternoons! No more servants trying to wiggle their way out of conversations with me!

My father found a widow name Madame Teestripe who had a daughter about my age. How coincidental!

When they first arrived, I instantly noticed their fancy dresses and coats and all of their trunks filled with things I couldn't imagine. Teestripe was a tight lipped woman who praised her daughter for everything.

Merisel was a little beauty. Her beautiful auburn hair and intense blue eyes stood against her flawless complexion. She was petite and feminine and never ate a boiled egg with her hands.

They acted like perfect little angels in front of my father, but when he left it was an intolerable hell.

Teestripe wiped off her makeup to reveal an old gnome with moles and hair. Merisel pulled off her wig to reveal dirty chestnut hair, removed the makeup from her eyes to reveal dull boring brown eyes, and pulled off her corset to reveal a pig.

Oh what a life I lead.

They made do all the work that the servants wouldn't do, like scrub their feet and apply their makeup or try to tie on their corsets.

Whenever I try to tell my father about this, he shakes his head and 'tsk's at me.

How could I even think such things about poor Teestripe, and look I've made Merisel cry.

Now you understand why I was crying when I saw the only person who ever loved me leave on a boat without a second glance.

I slowly walked to the carriage where Teestripe and Merisel awaited me.

"….Believe it? We have to look our absolute best. I think I'd better go as a natural. He seems to like the girls who are more of a natural beauty like I am…"

This is what I heard when I climbed into the carriage. This is what I hear when I wake up. This is what I hear when I go to bed.

The moment I sat down, Merisel stopped her constant yammering and turned to look at me.

"Oh, Ella you can't believe what just happened!"

I raised an eyebrow and studied her blushing, jiggly face. "What?"

"We, as in you and I, were just invited to a dinner party by the King!" she squealed. "Since the King has been looking for a suitable bride for his son and since he knew your father has 2 girls living with him he naturally wants to meet us. He thinks _we_ might be suitable brides for his son: THE PRINCE!"

This time my eyebrow rose even higher. Something was not quite right. "When did you get the invitation? We left the house since dawn."

"Well, mother got the invitation yesterday but decided to keep it a surprise until today!"

I looked at Teestripe who was sitting in a folded position with her head thrown back and her mouth wide open. She was sleeping.

"Why did you wait until my father left? Didn't you want him to know?" I asked.

Merisel giggled and looked at me. I noticed that she had lost quite a bit of weight from when I first met her.

"That's the second part of the surprise, silly. Guess who you're going to be."

I turned my head and looked at her. Something was seriously not right. "Who?"

"MY HANDMAID!!!" She screamed, making Madame Teestripe snort and look around wildly before going back to sleep.

My face instantly returned to its normal mournful expression. I knew anything involving me and a party was too good to be true.

We arrived home at about noon and spent the whole day getting ready. Madame Teestripe said she didn't feel very well and so would probably arrive at the party a bit late, so she went to bed.

Meanwhile, I had to help Merisel comb her long stringy hair and apply her makeup and pick out the _most perfect dress ever._

I also had to make sure she didn't eat any sweets from now until the party and kept having to refill her water pitcher. By the time I was finished, I was exhausted and we would have to leave for the party in about an hour.

I hurriedly picked out a plain lacy black dress to show I was in mourning from the loss of my father and I only had time to braid my hair in 2 long plaits that were tied together at the back. I really did look like a handmaid.

When Merisel saw me she jumped up and down in glee and kept yelling about how this was going to be the best night ever and how she was almost like an actual princess.

I calmly stood in the corner and waited for the carriage. If I tried to pretend I was somewhere else, maybe the night and the humiliation would go by faster.

Finally, a white and green carriage drove up let us in. From the time we left the doorway of my house to the time we got the grand staircase of the castle, Merisel kept asking me if I knew the prince or King; If I've ever met them or talked to them before.

From the time we left the doorway of my house to the time we got the grand staircase of the castle, I repeated the word 'No' about 52 times.

This was going to be one long night.

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_Okay, that's it. I know this chapter was horrible and you're probably picking the skin off your eyelids because of it. I apologize and hope you'll be kind in your review._

_If you don't like it just tell me and I'll abandon it again. The next chapter will probably have more action, because that is when Ella actually meets the prince for the first time. It's not going to be pretty._

_I wrote this to help you understand more about Ella and why her life sucks so much. I hope you'll come back for more._

_If you have any questions or want to tell me you hate me or something just press that little blue button._

_It won't hurt. I promise_.


	3. MEET THE PARENTS MAAAH!

_I clap. I clap for all of those who reviewed my story. Listen as I make noises of satisfaction:_

_Sfh204: You actually like my imagery and adjectives? I can't believe it! I hope this chapter will live up to your expectations and won't make you scream as if your head has exploded._

_Neptune Celestial Mirror: I don't understand how you can like my story better than yours but that's ok. I'm glad you liked mine. I wonder how mad you'll be if I just stopped writing and disappeared from the earth. _

_Vanderspektacular: If you think Ella is a poor girl now, your heart will melt in the next coming chapters. I feel kind of bad myself._

_InChrist-Billios: Hahaha the Gray Guy has quite a big part in this story. Tell me, can you guess what part he's going to play? You'll never guess it._

_WARNING: This chapter is a bit long. Don't give up on me just yet!_

_Quick Side Note: I changed her age. Instead of 15 she is now 16 about to turn 17. Don't feel distracted by the change._

_And for those of you who also wonder about the Gray Guy, well all I can say is POOR ELLA! HAHAHA I'M GIDDY WITH EXCITEMENT! Now quick, read so I can update!_

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The castle is a huge sparkling masterpiece of silver and stone. It's huge with large spiraling towers and tall wooden doors. I stared up at in awe, barely able to move. No matter how many times I see the castle I get the same reaction. 

Surprisingly, Merisel composed herself quite nicely as she walked up the thick stone steps to the Main Hall.

Every now and then we would see soldiers dressed in their uniform of green and gold standing on the stairs, as still as statues. I stared at them as we walked by only to be stopped short by the extravagance of what lay before me. First you had to step into the foyer and then go through two big heavy oak doors to find…

The Main Hall is a very big room with high ceilings that let in floods if light during the morning. Tonight there were candles strung everywhere and a huge golden chandelier hung in the middle of the ceiling. There was a fountain in the middle of the floor that spilled golden water and right at the end of the hall were two magnificent staircases that had red velvet lined steps and led to different parts of the upper level. There were little threads of blue-white light hanging in the air, called will-o'-wisps, which lit up the room with an unearthly glow.

The moment we stepped into the room one of the threads dropped and melted into the ground, only to reform into a weirdly shaped person. It didn't have any distinguishing gender characteristics and it was completely naked. Worst of all was that it didn't have a face or a torso or neck. Just smooth flesh that sat on top of smooth pale shoulders. The bottoms of the arms were connected to a long pair of sickly pale legs. I gasped and stepped back, but Merisel just lost it.

She started screaming for help and jumping around, but no one came. The thing just stood there, unmoving and ugly. I had to turn my head and try to ignore the liquid chunks moving up my throat.

Merisel's scream began to die down when she noticed that the thing was not moving. I was about to turn my head and look at it when all of a sudden I heard a blood-curdling cry and then I was on my back.

I felt all the air escape my lungs and I frantically opened my eyes and tried to breathe. I looked up and saw Merisel sitting on my chest screaming bloody murder. I hastily pushed her off before she crushed my ribs. I brushed my dress off and turned to see the reason behind Merisel's brain crunching screams.

What I saw took my breath away. The creature had suddenly grown long black hair that came up to its thighs (chest equivalent). It was twitching in a bizarre way, as if trying to move its joints. I watched in horror as two little dots and one big line began to appear on the face.

The thing now had two eyes and a smiling mouth. I yelped and turned my head to look at Merisel, but then I screamed even louder. All her makeup was running down her face in a jumbled tearstained mess.

I turned my head but only to see the thingy smiling in my face. I panicked and started screaming as the thing smiled at me and the Merisel cried on me. As I twisted around, frantically looking for a place to rest my eyes, I made a choice on which image would be least likely to scar me.

I stared at it and it stared at me. Merisel didn't stop screaming and no one in the world cared. The thing's head jerked and then the mouth opened to reveal the wet dark hole that was its mouth.

A fuzzy noise sounded through the mouth and Merisel stopped screaming once she heard it.

"Welcome and Good Evening ladies. I APOLOGIZE IF OUR STALE-SERVAAAANT SCARED YOU. MAAAHHHH!"

I jumped at the sudden pitch of the voice. It was a male's voice but it ended the sentence on a very high tenor note, as if trying to sing opera.

"Please follow the stale-servant to the party. WE WILL BE WAITING FOR YOOOOU!!"

The thing that was called 'stale servant' twitched and then began a scampering limp up the stairs and to the party.

Merisel and I exchanged looks.

"Well, go on. Don't tell me you're scared."

I glared at Merisel and started walking a safe distance a ways from the stale-servant.

We followed it up the stairs and through the grand architecture of the castle. I would've gaped at in awe if it weren't for the freaky stale-servant.

Finally we came to a broad opening at the end of a hall and walked in silently. The stale-servant had scampered off somewhere.

I looked around the room to see a moderately sized stone room with tapestries of various settings hanging on the wall. There was a warm fire dancing in a fireplace that was installed in the hall and everybody was mingling and talking to each other. There was a little table in the corner that was filled with all types of exotic treats and foods. I noticed the extravagance of everyone's clothing even though it was a small get together. I also noticed that beautiful people only mixed with beautiful people. I was going to be a very lonely girl for the next couple of hours.

As for Merisel, she immediately threw herself into the nearest conversation and began talking about herself and the palace and her inevitable future in it.

I wandered over to the fireplace and stared into the dancing flames, trying to wonder what would happen if I tripped the next person that walked by.

All of a sudden, I saw something move in the corner of my eye. I hastily turned to look only to be caught by strange violet eyes. I looked for the person behind the eyes, only to see a scowling young man of about 17 staring back at me. He had a shock of jet black hair tousled untidily over his eyes, and he didn't seem like a pleasant person to be around.

I raised my eyebrow at him and then turned back to my homicidal thoughts about the fire. Even as I ignored him, I felt his purple gaze biting into my profile, and I just couldn't take it anymore.

"Is there something you want?" I snapped. I didn't like people staring at me for no apparent reason.

He held out an empty glass. "I'm thirsty."

I looked from his face to the glass and back. He was completely serious. "That's nice," I responded. Every time I went to a party, I always had to get the crazy ones. Never normal!

He stared at me as if expecting something and I stared at him trying to figure out what he wanted.

"Do you want me to get you something, maybe?" I guessed.

He cocked his head and studied me. "Did you have to ask? If I say I'm thirsty doesn't it automatically click in your head to get me a drink?" He asked in a low voice. It sounded as if he never raised his voice above a whisper and now it was stuck like that.

I was taken aback by his sudden frankness and furrowed my eyebrows to show my disapproval.

"Why should I have to get you a drink? Go get one yourself, I'm nobody's servant!"

He narrowed his eyes to show his disapproval and to counteract my furrowed brows.

"First of all, did you just furrow your eyebrows at me? And second of all, what do you mean you're not a servant? You're ugly like one."

I stared at him with wide eyes and a slack jaw. How dare he?!

He smiled at his seemingly evident victory and held out his glass to me. "When I want something I never have to ask twice. Don't make me wait."

I took the glass out of his hand and showed my teeth in a barbaric fashion. "Don't worry your going to get your drink alright."

He looked at me with a measure of distrust but let me go. I walked over to one of the servants who were aimlessly standing in the middle of the room, holding a try of glasses with various liquids in them. I picked the darkest reddest drink and brought it over to that horrible boy next to the fire.

"Here's your drink." I said. And just as he was reaching for the glass, I carelessly let the dark liquid spill all over the front of his jerkin. Whoops!

"Aw, and that was such a nice vest. Want me to get you another drink?" I asked sweetly.

He gasped as the dark liquid seeped into his clothes and made his chest all sticky.

He narrowed his eyes at me and said in that whispery voice of his, "I'm telling my father."

Despite the volume of this last statement, everybody in the room stopped and looked at us. Nobody moved and I began to question the nature of the situation at hand.

The boy stared at me with an icy cold glare, and I stared at him with an I-seriously-want-to-go-home-right-now gaze. The tension in the air became palpable as no one made a noise, trying to figure out what was going on here.

Suddenly there was a loud crash and everybody jumped including the boy and I. A tall and robust man burst through the door dressed in the finest cloths and fashions. He had a big thick beard and a big belly that jiggled like jelly. When he walked into the room he started laughing much to everyone's dismay. Behind them was a thin tall woman, with long black hair that was braided and tied around her head. She was also dressed in the finest clothes and was laughing for no apparent reason. Behind them was a tall and lean man dressed in dark morbid clothes and he wasn't laughing. In fact he wasn't smiling or looking very pleased at all. The strangest thing about him was the fact that he had thick blue hair and blue stubble on his chin and face.

The laughing man and woman began walking around the room filling the air with their laughter and phrases such as, 'Good Evening' and 'Such a pleasure to see you again'. The blue haired man just followed them with his arms folded and a scowl on his face.

Whenever the trio passed a group of people, the people bowed and said things like 'Of course Your Majesties' and 'Simply wonderful'.

Upon further inspection I saw that the two laughing people were actually the King and Queen of Pishnoc. I recognized them because of all the various functions my parents had brought me to and the fact that they were at my mother's funereal.

I guessed that the blue-haired freak following them was their son, Prince Jack, since I had never met him before.

Once they reached the fireplace, I bowed my head and said, "Pleasure to see you again, Your Majesties."

They responded by laughing and nodding their heads in an excited manner. They turned to the boy in front of me.

"Ah, Jack!" King Anthony guffawed. "Ready for your stay in Lusalta?!"

The boy obviously known as Jack, just put his hand over his eyes and looked down, as if embarrassed by something.

"Oh Anthony, stop it!" Queen Zelda snorted. "Can't you see he's busy with this young lady!?"

They burst out laughing and Jack and the blue man turned their heads away in embarrassment. I stopped as something in my brain began to click.

The two rulers of the country are addressing this young man in front of me informally. They say his name is Jack. Their son's name is Jack. Oh no.

I plastered a smile on my face. "Is this your son?"

The King laughed at my sudden somberness. "Of course our son! Didn't he tell you when you were both conversing?"

The Queen giggled under her breath. "By the way, how are you to getting along? You seemed to be involved in a very deep conversation before we came in."

I gulped and slyly glance over at Jack to see his reaction. My throat constricted even more as I noticed his face breaking into a huge grin.

He opened his mouth as if he was about to say something but he was interrupted by the Queen.

Queen Zelda had controlled herself long enough to look at me. She studied me and then sparks of recognition lit up her eyes, making her go into a new peal of laughter.

"Anthony! I can't believe you don't recognize this young woman right here!" she chortled.

My eyes darted from side to side looking for the nearest possible exit. Something weird was going on and I've had enough of that to last a lifetime.

King Anthony peered at my face with inquisitive purple eyes and then he hooted as he obviously caught something I didn't.

"Why Zelda darling I think you're right! If it isn't Young Lady Lantern! The last time we saw you was at your mother's funereal! You've grown just like a weed!"

At this last statement, the both slapped their knees with jolly intent. "We ask your father about you all the time whenever he comes in with a report. Your mother and I were such good friends!" Queen Zelda snickered.

"When your father told us about that strange encounter in the Foret de Oubli, we were planning to take you in ourselves, but then we heard about that Madame Teestripe woman and thought it best to leave your father to the decision making," King Anthony chortled. "It's so wonderful to see you now! You're the spitting image of your mother!"

I smiled at them and felt a gurgle of laughter rise in my throat. All this jolliness was getting to me.

"You should really come to the castle more often dear! It would be such a shame not to get to know you better since your mother and I were bosom companions!"

"Yes!" King Anthony added. "Joined at the hip they were! Besides, you and Jack could've been such good friends! You definitely should visit the palace more often!"

I slapped my knees and laughed with them much to Jack and the Blue Man's horror.

After we composed ourselves and wiped our eyes, King Anthony turned and looked at the Blue man.

"Oh my! How could we forget?" He said to Queen Zelda. "Young Lady Lantern, this is our dear friend Captain Bluebeard."

Jack, Bluebeard and Queen Zelda turned to look at King Anthony in a sort of puzzled manner. Then King Anthony realized his folly and burst out laughing with his wife.

"HAHAHA BLUEBEARD!! My mistake, please forgive me," he guffawed while banging the mantle of the fireplace. "In actuality this man here is Captain Leif Steel! You can see how I made the mistake though, right?!" He grumbled while elbowing me in the side.

"Pleasure to meet you Captain Steel," I said politely while trying to hold in the laughter.

"Indeed," he said with a sharp rumbling voice.

"I apologize if Leif and Jack seem like 2 sticks in the mud. It is beyond my level of understanding as to why they can never be happy and enjoy the moment!" Queen Zelda apologized.

We all snorted trying to hold back our laughter while the 2 sticks in the mud rolled their eyes and exchanged exasperated glances.

Suddenly, the king snapped his fingers and looked as if he just received some sort of grand enlightenment. "Hey! I have a wonderful idea! Why doesn't Young Ella Lantern accompany us on our trip to Lusalta?"

The Queen squealed with happiness. "That _is_ a wonderful idea! We could get to know each other so much better if we spent some quality time with each other. It's been so long since I've talked to another woman, ever since your mother died! What with Anthony and my only son, Jack. Tell me Jack, would you like Ella to come with us? Are you two getting along?"

"She spilled red wine all over my new vest." He said without hesitation.

"Well, he called me ugly!" I said defensively. I'll be damned if he was going to ruin a free trip to Lusalta. I was stuck in my house for 6 years and no spoiled brat was going to ruin that for me.

The King and Queen stopped laughing and turned to look at Jack. "And what were you doing drinking red wine?" The King growled.

Jack's grin instantly turned to one of puzzled fear. I heard his stuttered words of defense as the King cornered him, but the Queen turned me away and began talking about the trip.

"But I couldn't possibly intrude on such short notice, Your Highness." I said humbly. If I played my cards just right they might take me away forever.

"Nonsense!" The Queen Shrieked. "And from now on you must call us Uncle Anthony and Aunt Zelda. I've never had a niece before."

I smiled at Aunt Zelda and I was about to say something sentimental until I was disrupted by a very familiar and annoying voice.

"YOUR MAJESTIES! It's such a pleasure to meet you on such obviously coincidental terms!" Merisel said loudly, for all the room to hear.

Aunt Zelda turned to look at her, all the laughter fading from her face. "I'm sorry dear, do I know you? This party is for close friends only."

Uncle Anthony turned his attention away from Jack and to the current situation.

"Of course you know me! I am Merisel Teestripe! The daughter of the very illustrious Madame Teestripe!" Merisel said in a high pitched voice.

"May I see your invitation dear?" Uncle Anthony asked. She handed him the small square of green and gold paper. "Ah, I see. This is for all the residents in the house of Lantern. I didn't know Lucien had another daughter!"

I quickly cut into the conversation. There was no way on hell or earth that I was going to be related to her. "No, she is the daughter of the person my father hired."

Merisel eagerly nodded her head. "Yes! And I also couldn't help hearing about that trip to Lusalta that you were talking about. As you well may know Ella here could never go anywhere without-"

"I'm sorry dear," Aunt Zelda said, quickly seeing through her ruse. "That invitation was for one person and one person only."

Merisel opened her mouth in a shocked way and then stalked off in the other direction.

I smiled to myself as I continued my conversation with my queenly aunt. Things were finally looking up for me now I thought happily.

That is until I glance over to the doorway and saw a squat figure rapidly making its way toward us with Merisel chattering into its ear.

I froze.

Madame Teestripe.

* * *

_AUGH!! I never expected this to be so long! If you made it to the end I award you with some hints to the next chapter: Madame Teestripe is going to force into that trip to Lusalta one way or another._

_I'm sorry if this chapter bored you and I hope you'll review and give me a reason to update._

_Until next time._


	4. Argh!

_Argh! I am determined to let this chapter make up for chapter 3 which had to be the worst! That stupid stale-servant thing worked its way into the story for no apparent reason. That is what I see when I close my eyes and that is what I see when I open them. That is what I see standing next to my bed when I go to sleep at night._

_Now, for some words of apology:_

_Celestial Starlight: It's about time you realized how much I suck. The whole of chapter three was one big sucky thing and I apologize if you wasted anytime reading it._

_I tried my best to follow your advice and edit the other chapter. Well actually, I just copied and pasted the whole thing in another section. I know I'm a horrible person._

_Sfh204: The pace of the story is going to go so fast that it's going to just blow up before I can do anything to save it. I advise you to just abandon ship while you can, before you get caught in the eye of the storm._

_Cimh: I don't blame you. I would be skeptical reading my own story, but I'm glad you enjoyed it._

_Warning: this chapter is probably going to be filled with clichés and horribly predictable moments so do what you believe is best, before it's too late._

* * *

My breath stopped and the smile melted from my face as I saw Madame Teestripe barging through the crowd. All hope of happiness faded as it usually did whenever I saw her. 

She was dressed in a very flamboyant purple and orange dress that made my eyes tear up and squint.  
"Your Majesty! What a pleasure to see you here! I hope Ella here wasn't too much of a bother," Teestripe said to Aunt Zelda.

Aunt Zelda turned to Teestripe with a bewildered look on her face. "I'm sorry; I don't seem to recall meeting you."

Merisel saw this as her cue, "Oh! This is my mother, Madame Teestripe. She's come to discuss the trip to Lusalta with you. Don't worry I've explained it all to her."

The Queen raised her eyebrows and turned back to call her husband. King Anthony walked over with a jolly look on his face. "Yes my dear, what seems to be the problem? Ah! It seems we have guests here. And who might you two lovely ladies be?"

Madame Teestripe smiled and held out a hand to the King. "I am Madame Teestripe, the guardian of young Ella here, and this is my daughter Young Lady Merisel Andesine Teestripe."

"Ah yes, Madame Fee-gripe of course. Nice to meet you," Uncle Anthony beamed.

Aunt Zelda leaned over to him and whispered something in his ear and he nodded his head in understanding. "So, you've come to discuss Ella's stay in Lusalta with us. News travels fast today."

"It's not that we have a problem with her going with you, in fact we're rather surprised that you want her along in the first place. It's just that Ella is a very um...how shall I put it- er- spoiled and finicky child, not at all suited for such regal companions such as yourself, and we simply want to make sure she has all she needs and that she behaves herself." Madame Teestripe stated.

My eyes went wide when I heard the lies she was telling about me. Did that woman have no shame?

Luckily, I wasn't the only skeptical person.

"Who is this '_we'_ you keep talking about? Surely you don't mean that your daughter has a say in the situation at hand?" Uncle Anthony inquired.

Teestripe chuckled to herself and waved the air with her hand. "Of course she wants to take care of Ella; Merisel loves Ella like a sister even though Ella is a rather distasteful child. My Merisel is very loyal and caring that way. All the little children and animals love her and-"

"Yes, yes that's all very nice but what about the other person you were talking about." Uncle Anthony asked in an annoyed way.

"Ella's father."

Everybody looked at her, bewildered. I wrinkled my nose. Something was not quite right.

"You've had contact with my father? But he just left this morning, how did you tell him about the trip so fast?" I asked.

Teestripe pushed my head out of the way so she could see Aunt Zelda's face clearly.

"See what I mean? Butting into adult conversations and being so rude about it. Not at all like my dear Merisel. See how quiet she is?"

We all turned our heads toward Merisel who was busy stuffing hor de 'vours (sp?) down her throat.

"Anyways, No I haven't seen your father. I'm simply stating what I believe he would say."

By this time we've all had enough with Madame Teestripe and her confusing off-track ways, so Aunt Zelda decided to end it once and for all.

"Oh my please don't worry yourself about this at all. Ella seems perfectly well behaved and I'm sure we won't have any problems."

Madame Teestripe laughed in a demeaning way. "Oh not to contradict you, My Liege, but she might seem that way now, but sooner or later her true colors will show.

After all she is the daughter of that witch of a woman-"

"ENOUGH I SAY!" Uncle Anthony roared. His face was beat red and everyone around us started staring.

"Don't you dare say an ill word about Violet," Aunt Zelda hissed, but Teestripe went on undeterred.

"That woman was as wild as they come. Always gallivanting around the country and keeping company with who knows what. Ella, dear, did you know your mother once ran with a pack of wolves on a _dare_?"

"Another word out of you and you will be sleeping with the rats! Don't listen to a word she says, Ella." Aunt Zelda said, but Teestripe just smiled.

"Oh please, don't try and spare the child's feelings she's as hard as a rock; just like her mother. No wonder Madame Lantern was fated to an early grave. In my opinion she got what she-"

After just standing there and listening to that rubbish about my mom, it was all I could do to not jump on her and scratch her eyes out. Instead I did something much better.

I lifted my hand and slapped Madame Teestripe across the face. "Don't you dare talk about my mother you…you _cow!"_ And then I walked out of the room and didn't look back.

I felt everyone's eyes burning into my back but that didn't stop me. I turned the corner and walked down a very lavishly painted hallway. The walls were red and the eyes paintings of very old men and women followed me as I walked.

Their eyes bored into my body and I walked until I couldn't take it anymore and turned another corner.

I was in another hallway now. The walls were green and only doors were seen. Some doors were tall and some were short. Others were kind of round and some were shaped like people. I looked at the varying shapes and colors of the doors until I reached a dead end. There was a huge window at the end of the hall that looked over the main entrance of the castle.

Finally I decided to go back. I passed the doors and the eyes until I was back in the gold hallway.

I sauntered down the hallway, taking my time to get back to the party. I guess I took to much time because the door to the party was nowhere in sight.

I picked up the pace a bit, skimming the wall with my hand as if trying to feel for the door. Nothing.

I began to panic for some reason and started to do a little jog/walk down the hall and yet there was no party to be seen.

I walked a bit more until I stood in shock at what I saw- a dead end. I rushed over to the window that was at the end and once more over the main entrance of the castle.

I broke out in a cold sweat as I turned around, fearing what I would see. I sighed in a relief when I saw the same gold hallway and not the green.

I took in 2 big soothing breathes as I told myself to calm down and asses the situation calmly. I decided to walk back the way I came and try to see if I took a wrong turn.

I passed the red hallway, but instead of portraits of glowering old people, I saw scenes of happy family portraits with vivid colors and laughing eyes.

I ignored it and kept walking until I came to the green hallway with doors, except now instead of doors, there was nothing. Absolutely nothing but green. I swallowed the lump of fear that was threatening to come out and walked down the hallway expecting to see something strange; Maybe a person with no face or something.

Instead I just saw the same dead-end that had a window overlooking the main-entrance.

That's when it hit maybe. Maybe if I don't expect to see the hallway with doors or perhaps a gold hall with a party, I'll get what's _not_ coming to me.

Man, I am smart.

I closed my eyes and tried to believe with all my might that there was _not_ a party, and that there _was_ a chance that I was going to die here.

I opened my eyes and to my disappointment I saw the same empty green hallway, but with a single disturbing picture on the wall.

It was a picture of a little child standing with a gray background. The child seemed to have a skull for a head and the rest of the body just looked like it was melting into the ground.

So, I guess I made things worse.

I turned and looked out the window, waiting for what was to come next. For some reason, I felt kind of calm. Maybe it was because I felt this was my version of a vacation; some time away from the world and its troubles. Or maybe it was because I hadn't eaten since morning. You choose.

I stared out of the window and counted the stars in the sky and the creatures that were scuttling across the ground.

Suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder. I hesitantly turned around, half expecting it to be the dead child in the picture or hopefully someone from the party.

Instead it was the last thing I expected on this entire earth. I honestly wouldn't have been more surprised had it been my father, or even my dead mother.

I turned around and stared in alarm at the most beautifully sculpted person I had ever seen.

I gazed up into the golden gray eyes of my savior that night so many years ago and the first words that came out of my mouth were:

"…Uh…you're not a dead baby."

He stared at me with a confused look on his wonderfully chiseled features. He had grown a lot taller and he was lean and very nicely proportioned, unlike me with my big hands and feet. His silver hair swept back softly against the nape of his neck and fell lightly against his brown. His eyes were still bright and disturbing and his clothes were a still all gray.

"…not."

I shook my head and looked at him again.

"Um…excuse me? I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention." I apologized.

"I said, 'I should hope not'." He said in the most glorious voice I had ever heard. It was gentle, yet stern, soft and yet demanding. Triumphant and yet humble.

I remembered my remark about the dead baby and blushed at the thought of my stupidity before. "Oh, I'm sorry it's just that I was expecting…well I was trying not to expect because…actually I thought that if I expected something to happen it wouldn't…ahem…actually happen…" while I rambled on like a vagabond on the street he kindly waited patiently, but those bright eyes of his would've suggested something else. They looked like they were going to devour me completely.

I looked away before my thoughts became any weirder.

"I'm disappointed."

I looked up in puzzlement. "What? Why?"

He regarded me with those wild gray eyes. "Well don't tell me you've forgotten when we first met so long ago."

I peered at him with a look of pure meekness. "Of course not! I didn't forget, honest!"

He smiled at my childlike persistence. "Good. Then you also should remember that you owe me something and that I said I would collect in a few years."

I nodded silently, unable to look away from those untamed gray orbs. It was like once you were in his presence you turned into a quiet obedient slave.

"Well, that's why I'm disappointed. You're no different from when I saw you 6 years ago so there's no way I can possibly have what I want."

Of course, I had no idea what he was talking about so I didn't make any moves to agree or object.

Then he reached out his hand and caressed my face, "But then again, I always get what I want." He said softly as if he was talking more to himself than to me.

"So don't worry, you'll probably be seeing me in a couple of months if I have anything to say about the situation."

I just stood there like a dummy as I felt his hand, soft as feather, stroke my cheek. So of course when he was walking down the hall I didn't make any move to stop him or ask him where I was or anything. I just drooled after his retreating figure until it was too late.

I smacked my forehead as punishment for my stupidity and looked up at the disturbing portrait that seemed to be laughing at me. For a moment I paused to consider what would happen if I jumped out the window behind me; what would happen if I just ended it all.

I turned around to determine the height of the fall only to see a little black door in front of me, instead of a window.

I looked from side to side trying to figure out whether someone was playing a trick on me, or if I had finally gone mad.

I decided to throw caution to the wind because I was as crazy as I was ever going to get at that moment. I might as well step through a foreign door and see where it took me.

I braced myself as I turned the knob and stepped through. I felt the harsh whip of the cold night air against my skin and opened my eyes to see stars and the moon and trees…_and the main entrance to the castle._

I saw that I was standing on a balcony and the black door has transformed into a glass paneled door that had a bunch of well dressed people drinking and mingling on the other side of it.

I was standing on the balcony of the party that I had originally started at. I rolled my eyes at the irony and leaned on the railing as I gazed into the night sky.

My thoughts began spiraling down the path of the insane after awhile.

_What if this isn't the right party? What if I'm in the wrong universe altogether? What if the people try to hurt me? Should I hurt them back? Maybe I should just go in there and kill them all right now before anything happens…_

Luckily, the sound of the balcony door opening shattered my train of thought.

I turned to see none other than the bad-tempered prince of Pishnoc.

Jack paused when he saw me, as if he was deciding whether to go back inside.

"So this is where you ran off to," he said.

"Well, not quite, but close," I replied. "Sorry about your vest. It was really nice."

He looked as surprised as I felt. I don't know why I suddenly apologized. Maybe it was my minds way of making up for the barbaric thoughts I had been thinking about earlier.

"Yeah, it was really nice and you should be sorry."

I shrugged and stared back over the ledge of the balcony.

"Oh yeah, your Madame Teestripe is taking her own private boat to Lusalta so I hope you feel happy about ruining everyone's trip. If you just stayed home, Teestripe wouldn't have to come and I wouldn't have been stuck talking to her daughter for the past 15min."

Again I shrugged. "I'm sorry for ruining everyone's trip and not staying home and making you talk to Merisel for 15mins."

"You're weird."

"I'm sorry." I was totally drained from the events of the past half hour or so. I just needed to sit down and not get up, so you could see why I was so docile.

Jack walked over and stood next to me.

"Hmm I see you're adjusting yourself to my nature more quickly than I thought. Apology accepted."

I looked at him with tired eyes and mustered what strength I had left to flash him that barbaric smile I gave before I spilled wine all over his chest.

He wrinkled his nose, "You know the weirdest part about this? This room doesn't even have a balcony."

* * *

_Ok that's it. I give up on trying to make this sorry excuse for a story worthy of foreign eyes. _

_If there is going to be a next chapter, it's probably going to be about our heroines first conversation with the prince._

_Be kind and don't make your reviews too harsh._

_Until next time._


	5. My very first time skip!

_From now on, call me Brace-Face._

_Hello once again. I hope you'll like this chapter and I hope I won't disappoint you. I also hope that my new braces won't offend you and make you stop reading. I apologize in advance to these people:_

_Celestial Starlight: Are you still my Beta, or am I going to have to consult the thing living in my closet for ideas?_

_Tami: According to my sources, you don't exist. Well, wherever you are, I hope this finds you well and corporeal. Enjoy this chapter with every fiber of your being._

_sfh204: Okay, no more using I at the beginning of every single sentence. I apologize for the first sentence and the 8th..._

* * *

I looked at Jack, and then I looked back over the edge. "This room doesn't have a balcony, eh?" 

He shook his head, and continued staring into the sky.

As you probably know by now, I wasn't satisfied with a simple shake of the head. "Then what are we standing on?"

Jack sighed, as if tired of my constant questioning. "Those are not questions I tend to ask myself. If this room doesn't have a balcony, and yet I am standing on a balcony, then what choice do I have than to believe that I was wrong and that this room does, in fact, have a balcony."

"What?"

All of these words were confusing my brain, and I was in no mood to decode whatever language he was speaking.

He just rolled his eyes, "If I'm standing on a balcony that must mean there is a balcony. No ifs ands or buts."

I just shrugged my shoulders and went with the flow.

We stood staring into the night sky, wordless. It would have been perfect, had it not been for the question running through my head.

"What's wrong with your house?" I blurted unintentionally. He just looked at me with a raised eyebrow, and then went back to stargazing.

"Someone I know made it that way." Was the reply.

Instead of shutting my mouth and going with the flow, I investigated more.

"Really? Did it come complete with stale-servants and labyrinthine hallways?"

He just smiled to himself. "Well, long time ago this castle was much worse. You couldn't walk 2 feet without getting sucked into some alternate dimension, or something."

I waited for him to keep talking, but he just started staring off into space again.

"And? What happened after that?" I prodded.

Jack looked at me, as if he had been snapped out of a daze. "What do you mean 'what happened after'? The castle was a wreck and everybody had to wear some kind of Magical object to keep them tied to this plane of existence."

I rolled my eyes and turned my full attention to him and this conversation. I was learning that you had to be fully involved to talk with him or you don't say anything at all.

"I mean, how did it change? How did the castle become better? Why am I standing on an imaginary balcony?"

Jack turned towards me, his concentration now caught. "Well, after a while I was getting pretty sick of it. Then I met a person who shall not be named and they fixed it and replaced the missing servants with stale-servants."

"How did you meet that person? What do you mean missing servants?"

"Well, I didn't actually meet 'that person'. They just found me and next thing I know, they're offering a solution to my problems. All I have to do for them is a simple favor in the future. The house is currently fail-safe. There haven't been any accidents at all. And by missing servants, I mean servants that either quit or got lost before they could quit. Those stale-servants are very efficient things, you know."

I smiled inwardly as I noticed that Jack was opening up to me, but all this constant questioning was getting aggravating. "Why are the stale-servants to spooky? Did you know I got lost earlier? If this house is so fool-proof, why did I get lost?"

Jack looked at me in surprise. "What do you mean you got lost? That's impossible! It must be you, or something. Or the person who shall not be named was just messing with your head. They're immature that way."

I refrained from telling him about my little encounter, and decided to change the subject.

"How do you feel about being the future king?" I asked, unintentionally. I mentally smacked myself, because I knew how tormented these heirs apparent could be. Whenever you ask them something like, 'How do you like being the next in line for your father's trading company?' or 'What does it feel like to be next in line at the buffet table?' they always come out with some sob story about the pressure, or that they want to go down a different path or that they're in love with their neighbor's dead cat (a very weird day that was).

I braced myself for the inevitable onslaught of tears and angst, but all I got was a hearty sigh.

"Well I'm not to keen about my father dieing, but I think I'm ready to become king. I've worked hard and studied all that I've had to, so I don't think that there is going to be a problem."

I must say, I was impressed with him so far. I was about to open my mouth to ask another question, but he beat me to it.

"What happened when you got lost? Where did you go?"

I closed my mouth and looked down, wondering if I should tell him the truth or not.

"Well…"

He looked at me expectantly.

"…I saw a person from long time ago…"

He kept staring.

"Because I owed them something."

He blinked once.

"Well, you see, long time ago when I was 10…" And that is how he made me spill my whole life story from the death of my mom to the little dead child in the picture.

As I told my tale, he began getting a very disturbed look on his face which reminded me a lot of my father. When I was finished, he just wiped his face with his hand.

"Wow. Someone must really hate you."

I rolled my eyes and looked away. "Yeah, thanks a lot."

He laughed and went back to staring over the edge. "Hey, have you ever fallen down a flight of very large and hard stairs? Like the one in front of the castle?"

I looked at him skeptically. "No, why; have you?"

He just wrinkled his nose again. "No. I was just wondering whether a fall like that could kill a person, or at least seriously injure them."

I ground my teeth in thought. Those were very hard and cold steps. If you pushed someone at exactly the right angle, with exact element of surprise they just might tumble off to their doom. Then I got a brilliant idea.

"Did you ever try pushing anyone?"

Jack looked at me in shock. "What?! You think I'm demented or something?"

"…"

"I tried once but they just held on to the railing."

I nodded my head knowingly. Those safety rails could cause a lot of problems. "What about pushing a stale-servant?" I suggested.

He chewed on his tongue in thought. "Well, I thought about it once, but since they were missing a mid-section I figured it wouldn't work."

I waved off his excuse and shook my head. "A body is a body, mass is mass. It's bound to have some kind of result."

He shrugged his shoulder and we walked to the grand steps.

"All right," I said. "Call a stale-servant."

Jack just looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

I made a face at him, "What do you mean 'what do you mean?" Call one up so we could get this over with."

He just made a face right back at me. "I don't control them! They just come out of nowhere whenever I need them, and then they just disappear. I don't really care as long as they just leave. They're creepy."

I rolled my eyes, and started thinking of a way to get a stale-servant. Suddenly I heard a clicking sound behind me. I slowly turned around, and nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw what was behind me.

A stale-servant was standing behind me smiling at me like the world was made of gumdrops.

"J-Jack? How did that get there?" I asked, my voice still trembling from the shock.

Jack just shrugged and pointed to this little rope that was hung against the wall.

I smacked my forehead and just told him to hurry up.

"Position the stale-servant in front of the stairs, and I'll push," I instructed.

He turned, "Why do I have to touch it?"

"Because it belongs to you," I said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh yeah? Well I command you to position it."

Then we argued for a very long time. After that we got into a sort of fist fight.

I shoved him; he shoved me and all that other stuff. It finally concluded with me getting pushed onto the stale-servant thus knocking it and me down the stairs and my pulling Jack down with me.

I was learning that any conflict with Jack was bound to end up like this.

We rolled and tumbled down the large grand stairs with only the cushy meat of the stale-servant to cushion our fall; but that didn't stop me from getting seriously hurt on the cold stone steps.

When we stopped rolling and finally landed on solid ground I was overwhelmed by the pain.

My jaw hurt, my leg hurt, my chest hurt my everything hurt. What was worse was that I was covered in this weird sticky black stuff which looked like tar.

I looked over to Jack who was sitting up and trying to massage his forehead.

I shrieked when I saw him because he looked so horrible.

He had blood streaming from his nose and his vest and trousers were ripped at almost every seam and to top it all off, he was covered in sticky black stuff.

For a moment, I thought it was my blood that was covering us, but then I looked down and saw that the stale-servant had become a sticky black broken mess that was very dead.

"E-Ella…, are you okay?"

I tried to open my mouth and say yes, but all I felt was blinding white hot pain in my head and jaw.

"Ella?"

I nodded my head and tried my best to say yes without moving my mouth.

"Good, you have to help me hide the body."

"Waw?" I asked with a cocked head.

"You know the stale-servant. If they find out, we both are going to be in big trouble; possibly a brutal maiming."

I was just about to ask who 'they' were, but Jack had already proceeded in picking up one end and motioning me for me to pick up the other.

I painstakingly bent down and half picked up and half dragged the stale servant into the woods. I looked up the grand staircase to see that the guards were gone without a trace.

We dragged the dead stale-servant through the dark forest. Over leaves and deep holes, under low branches and giant spider webs.

The deeper we went the worst the geography seemed to become. We were constantly falling into muddy holes and hitting our heads on tree branches.

Later on I would wonder if we were only doing this because we were merely under the haze of massive head trauma. We surely would have found a better solution if we had more sense.

But at the moment, I was in a lot of pain and lost any sense of reason.

Finally we stopped in this big clearing with a roaring stream next to it.

"Start digging."

I got on my hands and knees and began clawing into the earth, dirt flying every which way. By this time, I thought we were on some kind of treasure hunt with my dad and everything was normal. I was too tired and in too much pain to begin thinking about the present.

I looked up at Jack who was busy pawing at the ground, and silently laughed as asked myself why the prince was looking for buried treasure.

When we were finished, we pushed the stale-servant into the hole and began kicking the dirt back in.

"What now?" Jack asked once we were finished.

I looked at him for a while and tried to form a coherent thought into a sentence.

"We 'a oo wah ah uh."

Jack looked at me with narrowed eyes and then nodded once he understood which was surprisingly quick.

We knelt on the edge of the stream and began pouring water over the sticky bloody ink stuff. The water was freezing but felt good on my bruised skin.

When we were finished, we haphazardly found our way back to the castle, up the stairs and in some small tea-room. We were completely soaked in freezing water and we quickly fell asleep.

I woke up with a start. I was in my own bed, in what seemed to be my own room. Nothing was out of the ordinary and there was no evidence that last night ever happened, I lay under the covers with my eyes closed. _I guess last night was just a dream_ I thought bitterly. I would also have to endure my father leaving again.

I burrowed deeper under the covers, as if trying to hide from the fact that my only chance to escape was just a dream.

As I tried to fall asleep, I felt a little nauseous. My stomach was flopping up and down and my head was screaming for fresh air.

I bolted up and out of bed, only to jump right back under the covers.

I wasn't in my room.

No, the room I was in had a low ceiling and round windows lining the walls.

My bed was small and cozy with only one pillow on it, and there was a dresser with a vanity mirror on the wall that held a lot of perfumes, lotions and other useless stuff.

I slowly crept out of the bed and walked over to the window. I saw nothing but blue. It was as if the world had changed color when I was sleeping. I looked a little and saw that the blue was actually water and sky. The sun glinted joyfully off the waves and the sky was a glorious clear blue.

At this point my mind was practically exploding, trying to figure out what had happened.

I couldn't remember anything except falling asleep and waking up.

I slid down to the floor with my back against the wall. No matter how I placed everything in my mind, it didn't add up.

Suddenly, I heard a door open. I looked up and saw the lighting pouring into the room and a tall thin shadow in the threshold.

The shadow walked up to the bed.

"Ella? Ella!? Where are you, dear?" it cried frantically.

Wait a minute, I recognized that voice.

"Aunt Zelda?" I asked a little weakly.

She walked over to me in a light thin summer dress, and sighed in relief. "You gave me quite a scare. I'm so glad you're finally up after that incident last week. You were such a mess when we found you."

I stood up and looked at her questioningly. "But I don't understand. I don't remember anything except for…"

I gulped and studied the floor with a philosopher's intent. Aunt Zelda laughed and picked my chin up. "Don't worry, Jack told us everything, about the wolves and that horrible harpy. You are so lucky that Jack's quick thinking came up with something good. Who'd ever think that a beehive could have such disastrous effects?"

I squinted my eyes and thought. _Harpies and beehives? No, No! That doesn't add up at all!_

I shook my head to clear out some of the confusion. "But how did I get here? What do you mean 'that incident last week'? What happened?!"

Aunt Zelda frowned as if she couldn't believe that I was serious.

"You honestly don't remember?"

She sat me down on the bed and sat next to me. "When we found you, you both were such a mess. Broken limbs, bruised muscles and plus, you were soaking wet! Well we had to get you both to the infirmary immediately and the doctor told us to wait awhile while your bodies patched themselves up. You especially had such a high fever and was unconscious for days. We were going to leave you with your governess and her daughter but then thought better of it. We just couldn't abandon you with that horrible woman. In the end we decided to take you with us."

My brain absorbed the welcome solution to all the questions I had earlier. "So it wasn't a dream?"

Aunt Zelda laughed till the tears welled up in her eyes. "A dream?!? More like a Nightmare! Hahaha!!"

When she finally controlled herself she pointed to the dresser. "I'm going to tell everyone you woke up. Get dressed so you can have lunch."

Before she left I called her back. "Wait, Aunt Zelda! One more question: Where exactly are we?"

She snickered at my ignorance. "Why, you're on a ship to Lusalta of course!"

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Ok, my dear friends. That is the end of that. I know this chapter was rather long and kind of late but I hope you'll forgive me. Also, please tell me if you don't like it and want me to change anything. I'm only here to make you happy. 

It's kind os weird and all, I know that so I won't be hurt or surpirsed if it hurts your brain.

Come back for the next chapter where Ella talks and does some more stuff.

Until next time.

_No, No! That doesn't add up at all!_


	6. They're baaaack

**All righty, here's the next chapter custom made for you to enjoy! Thanks to my beta who's the best beta in the world this chapter will be awesome.**

**Hooray for Celestial Seraphim!**

**Review please!

* * *

**

I looked in the chest next to me bed and found a thin white sundress with flowers embroidered on the hem and a big white straw hat with flowers in the middle.

After I got dressed and washed my face, I quietly walked out of my room and on to the deck. I wasn't quite sure if this was real or if it was a dream.

The outside of the ship was a lot brighter than the inside. The frothy blue ocean crashed onto the hull, the light glistening off the polished wood of the floor and the silence,

oh, the silence was wonderful! No Madame Teestripe bellowing or Jack yelling or servants tumbling or anything! Just the salty sea breeze, the roar of the waves, the gawk of the seagulls, and me!

It was a few minutes before I could fully take in the splendor of my surroundings, my senses held under siege by the beauty of it all. The blue sky was brushed gently with white and grey clouds, but somehow they just made it look even more glorious. I just stood out on the deck and let the wind blow through my hair and ruffle my sundress, while I deeply inhaled the saltwater mixed with something that smelled like honey. My stomach grumbled and followed the scent to a small table set right out on the deck, where everybody was waiting there, all dressed in white because of the sun. The table was filled with all kinds of things: cake, honey, strawberries, passion fruit, salted fish, carved peppers, and so much more.

For a while, I just stood there dumfounded by the sight of it all. That is until I heard an obnoxious, "Well are you just going to stand there all day like the idiot you are, or are you going to sit down like a normal person?"

I glared at Jack, who was sitting at the table with his arms folded, crossly. I walked over and sat down right in between him and Uncle Anthony.

"Good morning," I announced. All the chairs were filled except for one.

"More like Good Afternoon," Uncle Anthony chuckled.

"But try telling that to either Jack or Leif, they'll just hiss in your face like the bad tempered cats they are!" Aunt Zelda chimed.

Jack just rolled his eyes and commenced with his eating.

So, Leif was the only one missing and our captain was the only person I hadn't formally met with yet.

Regardless, we all had a good laugh before we started eating.

"It's no use waiting for Leif; he'll probably be locked away in the captain's quarters until nightfall." Uncle Anthony had said.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Leif came to the table right as the last honeydew slice was being sucked into my gullet- I had taken way too many items on my plate and wouldn't be finishing for a long time. Five days without eating can erupt with that hunger.

Leif sat at the table with his trademark scowl on and stared at us accusingly when he saw that the food supply was almost empty.

"Well at least we didn't eat _everything_," Uncle Anthony mused good-naturedly.

"Really, darling, you should come up to eat with the rest of us more often. We love to have your company." Aunt Zelda said sweetly. "Even Jack takes the time to sit down with us once in a while. Isn't that so, Jack?"

No reply.

We all turned to look at the end of the table only to see an empty chair and a half finished biscuit.

"Well, at least he comes on time," she added down heartedly.

We were interrupted by an abrupt splashing from over the edge of the boat. Uncle Anthony excused himself to examine it and when he cried back we heard, "Look, Dear! Dolphins! In the water! You must come and see them!"

"Well, of course they're in the water, sweet!" Aunt Zelda giggled.

She pushed back her chair and I did the same. "No, no, my dear. You must finish everything on your plate before you leave the table," she scolded, looking unsatisfied at my plate, and then left.

So there I was, sitting at the table; the epitome of melancholy.

Leif just sat there with his dark rimmed blue eyes, nibbling on a cold piece of unleavened bread.

I awkwardly stuffed the food into my mouth so I could escape and go somewhere else.

He regarded me with inquisitive, electric blue eyes. "Leave."

I looked up at him with my mouth dripping with food. "Excuse me?" I asked. Surely, he wasn't going to drive me from the table while I was in the middle of a tangerine. No, no one could be that cruel.

"If you want to leave that's fine. You don't have to finish all your food. I can see that you're uncomfortable here." He said with his quiet mournful voice. It always seemed like the very sky darkened whenever he spoke and the wind turned cold and gusty.

I almost felt a little sympathetic when I watched his lonely form. A little.

I scrambled from the table and was almost at the starboard until I changed my mind.

With head down and a very put out look on my face, I walked back to the table.

"No, it's alright. I'd much rather sit here and enjoy your company," I said politely, with a lumbering undertone.

He looked up at me, and I could've sworn I saw something of a smile, but I couldn't really concentrate because at that moment there was a loud clap of thunder right above the ship, which was strange because I could've sworn it was sunny when I walked out. It seemed as if the very sky grew distraught whenever he opened his mouth.

When we heard it, I jumped about a mile out of my skin but Leif just sat there with a very petulant look on his face as if he was used to it.

After a while, the silence was getting a little awkward. He just sat there nibbling on that piece of bread while I vacuumed up every piece of food on my plate.

"So…," I began, desperate to start a conversation, "Why are you blue?" I slapped my hand over my mouth. That was not exactly what I meant to start the conversation with.

He gave me a weary look, as if he were used to that question being asked all the time. "I don't know."

I cleared my throat nervously, trying to think of something else I could say to start a conversation that wouldn't offend. Thankfully, about two seconds later, the devil himself came strolling in.

Jack walked up to me as I ate and his face contorted in disgust at the heap of food on my plate. "You're already fat enough as it is. Do you want to sink the ship?"

My fork stopped in midair and the boiled rice fell back onto the plate.

I looked up at him with an annoyed look on my face. "Is there something you need?"

"I need to know what you told my mother when you woke up."

I turned back and looked at my food, which now seemed cold and unappealing. "Nothing. I said nothing, so leave me alone. Your stupid story about harpies and a honeycomb is probably going to get us found out anyway."

"Oh, would you be quiet? At least I was conscious and didn't black out for a week just because of a silly cold."

I sighed and looked up at him with a bored expression on my face. "At least I'm not ugly."

He just made a face at me and walked away.

As I turned back to my food, I noticed that Leif was still sitting their staring at me with his eyebrows about a foot off his head.

"So you were lying."

I gave a nervous laugh and brushed nonexistent hair out of my eyes. "What? Lying? No, of course not."

"Then what happened?"

I froze up. I had no idea what Jack told his parents. "Well, I don't see how that's important now, but if you insist-what?!" I motioned to something dramatically in the distance "What's that behind you? That ship looks like its passing awfully close to us."

I know, it's wrong to lie, but I had to do something! So the moment he turned around I was off and running to the other side of the ship. I had forgotten which room was mine and so I began pushing in doors as I jogged down the deck. When I opened the sixth door, I saw a familiar figure sitting on the bed with the curtains drawn.

"Jack?" I called a bit uncertainly. It was dark in the room and I could only make out a faint silhouette.

The figure's head slowly turned toward me. "What?" it growled.

It was Jack all right. He seemed to be in an even more fowl mood than when I left him so I proceeded with great caution

"What's a matter, Sunshine? Dropped your teddy bear off the side of the ship?" I asked, babying him in a sadistic manner.

So I wasn't cautious. I just couldn't resist!

Jack whipped around like lightning and I felt a cool wind whiz by my ear. There was a crash behind me.

"Oh, so we're throwing things now? You know, if you were about one mite smarter that might've actually hit me."

He just kept his back to me and continued staring out the window.

I sighed. I knew how this was going to end: With me apologizing and him making me swear my eternal allegiance to do whatever he wanted or me getting very hurt in the process. It was the same thing that got me into the mess with the dead servant and the fever.

"What is with you? Your mood swings are scaring me."

Silence.

"If it makes you feel any better, 'I'm sorry.' Is that what you want to hear?"

More silence.

"Well fine, Jack! If that's how you're going to be, good bye. I have better things to do than waste my time here."

I turned around and began walking out the door until I heard a soft voice behind me.

"Wait."

Jack now had half of his body facing me and a weird sad, miserable look on his face.

He patted the spot behind him and then faced the window again.

I suspiciously looked around as I walked in. He probably had some kind of weapon waiting for me.

I sat down next to him and we just stayed there in silence.

The silence was getting me jittery, and just as I was about to get up and leave a most remarkable thing happened.

Jack actually laid his head on my lap with out any warning at all.

Needless to say, I jumped a little and was really surprised. I uncertainly patted his head and said, "There, there…?"

He just let out a low breath of air didn't move for a very long time.

There was more silence and I was beginning to get jittery again. I had an itch on my leg that I just couldn't reach with out moving and killing the moment.

Finally, I had enough. "Jack? Jack?" I whispered.

He didn't move.

"Jack? Jack are you ok?" I asked nervously while slightly shaking him.

I heard a strangled snore and then something rude was mumbled.

He fell asleep.

I looked around to see what was going on. He was using my lap as a pillow!

His bed had no pillows….and he was using my lap as a pillow.

How was all this connected?

It took me a few minutes to figure out but I was enraged when I got it.

"Oh, you are sick! What kind of weird for of retribution is this?!"

I remembered that my bed had all these pillows on them. His mother probably made him give me all of his pillows and so now he was getting back at me by using me as a breathing pillow. He probably set this whole thing up!

I pushed him off of my lap and marched out the door.

As I got onto the main deck, I saw a long wooden bridge that was placed between our ship and another one close by.

I automatically thought of pirates but when I got closer my eyes laid across something much worse.

Madame Teestripe and Merisel were standing there chatting with Leif.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get away quick enough and Teestripe spotted me right away.

"Oh, Ella, dear! Do come here and have a little chat with us! Leif is quite the charmer."

I stiffly walked to the little group with a fake smile plastered on my face.

"H-how did you get here?" I asked through clenched teeth.

"Well, it was quite the lucky thing. You see, we were planning to surprise you and the King and Queen by showing up in Lusalta when we happened to pass by your ship-," Merisel began but was cut off by her mother.

"-We managed to hitch a ride with my dear friends the Duke and Duchess of Bron-,"

"-And we were trying to catch up but you were going too fast, and just as we were about to give up, you miraculously stopped and gave us time to catch up!"

My smiled grew more strained as I though of us being so close to escaping them.

I turned to Leif, ready to drop the blame somewhere, "So, why did we stop?"

He turned to me with the face of a child watching their kittens drown, "Well, thanks to you and your talents for spotting ships, I mistook them for a royal ship and stopped."

Ship spotting talent? What was he talking about?

I thought back until I realized it.

This morning. That stupid lie I told.

And, in front of both God and Man, I dropped that fake smile, smacked my forehead and muttered, "Idiot!"

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'_Kay, hope you enjoyed. Remember to review!_


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